Albus Dumbledore was troubled. Earlier in the day, he had found himself quite abruptly approached by his recent hire Oswald Mallory and told quite directly that under no circumstances would he be returning to classes. Upon questioning, the disgruntled looking man mumbled something about the world going topsy turvy and him not sticking around to see what else "that little wench" will come to bring upon wizardkind. Dumbledore was forced to let the man go, seeing as he would hear no form of reasoning or discussion.
Albus later discovered through the portrait network that the "little wench" Oswald had been referring to was Hermione Durant, whom apparently dueled said former professor and made quite the fool of him. Or that was at least the gist of it.
It immediately brought to his attention the fact that he had yet to investigate further into their background, as he had intended to allow them a grieving period before bringing it up.
Now it seemed that not only were the transfer students well and functioning, but consistently defying expectations in all their subjects. That surprising information aside, however, this newest development might prove worrisome indeed. A young girl with the kind of power to incapacitate a full professor, albeit somewhat average dueler, was a far cry from the ordinary, orphaned girls he first believed himself to be taking in.
Though the girls did not appear to be in anyway nefarious, experience had made him wary of powerful Slytherins with mysterious backgrounds, and in the face of what he believed could become one of the deadliest wizarding wars of all time, there was a need to expose any possible threat that may aid in the ascension of Voldemort even if only indirectly.
This is why he found himself seated within his office after dinner with three straight-faced girls staring at him expectantly but politely.
"Good evening misses Durant, Peasegood, and Summerbee. Would you care for a sherbet lemon?"
The corners of Hermione Durant's mouth seemed to twitch as if she were holding off a smile before politely declining on behalf of them all.
"Do you know why I've asked to meet with the three of you Miss Durant?" He addressed, understanding that she seemed to take some sort of unspoken lead between the three of them.
"Oh I imagine it could be any number of reasons Headmaster. Please feel free to broach your concerns at your leisure," she replied graciously, as if humoring the old man.
Though slightly baffled by her tone and blatant allusion to numerous secrets he was not privy to, the Headmaster simply smiled genially and plowed ahead.
"You see, Miss Durant, I was approached by my now former DADA professor this afternoon about immediate resignation from his post. When I inquired as to what lead to this rather abrupt decision, I was given the impression that a student, namely yourself, defeated Oswald Mallory in a wizard duel in a manner quite unprecedented to that of a 6th year student," he paused to gauge Hermione's politely blank expression before continuing, "You can imagine that I was quite surprised by this new development and I must confess that the news reminded me that I have yet to inquire further into your backgrounds," Professor Dumbledore paused again as if to allow time for one of the girls to step in with an explanation but simply received three noncommittal stares, one of them slightly more dotty than the others, before he continued on, "therefore, I feel that it is in the best interest of this school that I ask you to divulge all relevant information pertaining to your pasts as well as how you came to possess such talents." He decided to go with the most direct approach first.
Albus Dumbledore watched interestedly as Hermione Durant casually raised an amused eyebrow at his sudden inquiries before abruptly leaning forward with a rather serious expression upon her young face. The contrast between the two expressions was quite striking despite there only being a few minuscule muscle movements.
"Headmaster," She began in a tone that matched her expression, "While I truly understand your need to ascertain if we pose any threat to your efforts against Voldemort, I do take objection to the extremity of your demands. Certain aspects of our pasts are ours alone to bear, 'relevant,' as you so vaguely put it, or not.
"As to how my comrades or I came to possess any sort of talents, what answer could you possibly expect to receive? We were born witches, Sir, and worked hard to become exceptionally skilled ones. I was under the impression that Hogwarts was a school that valued a high standard of magical education and dedicated itself to students reaching their full potential; was I misinformed? Perhaps the Magical British government prefers to keep the majority of its wizards and witches mediocre? That would explain the rather lax standards we've witnessed at this institution thus far; not to be rude sir, but it seems as if the school is almost set up in a way that innately creates a nonconductive learning environment. I beg you not to condemn us simply for doing exceptionally well at school in comparison to students reared in such an atmosphere," She finished dryly.
Albus Dumbledore was, needless to say, stunned. He was certainly not used to being addressed in such a manner, nor had he ever had anyone blatantly criticize Hogwarts of all places. He was also astounded that this young girl had successfully dodged his questions by turning them back on him without a blink of an eye. He could clearly see why she had been placed in Slytherin. While he was indeed disgruntled to once again lose his footing with this young lady, he was logical enough to acknowledge the truth to some of her points.
That being said, he didn't have time to dwell of the matter of Hogwarts' shortcomings at the moment. If nothing else, he at least needed to figure out if these students were dangerous; the gaps in his knowledge were too unsettling for him.
"Perhaps we should shelve the topic of academics for the moment and focus solely on what is of the upmost importance. Are you in anyway involved in the war being waged within Great Britain at this very moment?"
Albus asked this question casually enough while taking to opportunity to discreetly reach out to Miss Durant's mind in order to subtly glean the mysterious student's foremost thoughts. This was not something he generally condoned and under normal circumstances would not have utilized at all but dark times called for dark measures.
What he hadn't expected however, was to run into a solid wall that bounced his spell straight back at him. He jumped slightly in his chair in surprise and turned his alarmed gaze on the still unfazed girl as a slow smirk began to crawl onto her dainty features.
"Now, now Professor," she said in a sing-song voice, as if she were scolding a child, "Let's remember our manners. It wouldn't do to be so rude as to invade someone's privacy without permission."
Albus Dumbledore stared at her with his mouth slightly agape. Not only had she casually deflected his legillimency, she seemed more amused by the entire event rather than upset with her professor attempting to read her mind. A rare moment of speechlessness overcame the legendary wizard as he stared at the girl in front of him that so casually rebuffed one of the most powerful legillimens of the age. Alarm was slowly starting to outweigh his shock as this child's threat level increased even further within his mind. He was saved from speech, however, when Miss Durant's companion Luna Summerbee suddenly broke the silence.
"Headmaster Albus Dumbledore," the tranquil girl began in her airy voice, "Do not be alarmed. I understand you to be a very wise man… and although difficult times often cloud even the clearest of eyes, I do beseech you to draw upon that nature which allows you the admirable ability to see the good in people.
"Just because we three are different and powerful does not mean that you need fear us. On the contrary, oftentimes it is these sorts of people that are capable of effecting the most change within the world," Luna turned her head distractedly to gaze upon Fawkes sitting at his perch, "do not be quick to make enemies of those whom you do not understand. When given the option, it is always better to attempt to make a friend before an enemy, is it not?" She asked absently while casually raising her right arm invitingly. Almost immediately, Fawkes glided across the room to perch elegantly on Luna's shoulder as she lowered her outstretched hand.
Albus felt his jaw literally fall open as he watched his familiar nuzzle the strange girl's blonde hair while her two friends fought amused grins. He really wasn't used to being surprised so often and he felt as if his age was finally catching up with him. He had certainly been given enough to think about.
He was rather surprised to feel somewhat ashamed of himself in automatically jumping to the worst conclusions throughout the conversation, despite the logical nature of such concerns. It was as if Luna had tapped directly into one of his weak spots and now he found himself incapable of interrogating them any further. Not to mention the fact that Fawkes was cozying up to all three of them in turn as if they were all old buddies. Phoenixes were creatures of the Light and Fawkes was Dumbledore's very own familiar; if he approved of the three young witches, Albus came to the conclusion that this was enough for him. At least for now. There was one more issue at hand, though…
"You make a compelling point Miss Summerbee. And it would appear Fawkes is in agreement with you as well. The only problem I have left to deal with is finding a new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher. It's hard enough to fill the position as it is but to find someone in the middle of the school year is likely to be impossible," Dumbledore mused quietly.
"Hmmm," Hermione Durant hummed with a quizzical look on her face as if she were seriously considering his dilemma, "Perhaps you should hire someone you trust unequivocally who doesn't necessarily need the job but would be willing to do you a favor and finish up the year. Perhaps there are some old students looking for ways to be useful to you?" She finished casually.
Albus stared at her in thought. He wasn't sure if it was her intention but her comments brought to mind the members of his rather newly formed Order of the Phoenix. In fact, two very talented brothers had been complaining just the other day about not being used to their full potential. Perhaps they would be willing to work out some sort of arrangement…
Still distracted by these ponderings, Albus Dumbledore quietly waved the three mysterious girls goodnight as they inconspicuously departed from their Headmaster's office, eyes still twinkling with secrets untold but an undeniable kindness that reassured the old man that he had not made an error in judgment.